Albany County Executive Dan McCoy wants people moved OUT of a neighborhood bordered by railroad tracks.
Ezra Prentice Homes consists of sixteen buildings and 179 units . Federalized in the mid 1980?s, the property sits right off I-787 and backs up to a railroad storage yard. McCoy has been pro-active in the battle against those so-called “oil trains” that carry crude and often park on rails near the buildings. He says it's not a matter of if an oil spill will happen, but rather a matter of when.
"The people that live down there in Albany housing, 80 per cent of them are minorities. They don't choose to live there, they can't pack up and move away. “
McCoy is urging the Albany Housing Authority to move residents out of Ezra Prentice. “Close them down, and let these people live in an area where they can have a quality of life."
Calls to Housing Authority Executive Director Stephen Longo were not immediately returned.